What it Takes
by OfficerMimic
Summary: Forces of evil are hard at work in the Nanairo system, and it's a good thing Rallen and Jeena are there to combat it. But when Zig, Beht and Gorrik start messing around in the desert... Rallen and Jeena just may not like the consequences.


What it takes

Chapter 1

*** Kaio System, on the surface of the third planet… ***

"I hate Menahat! Burns in the day 'n' freezes at night, like it can't make up its gosh darned mind!" Zig stamped his foot in frustration.

The shady-looking trio were out in the middle of the Menahat desert. It was long after the final rays of the sun had disappeared and the land appeared a serene shade of blue. The three youngsters were some ways off from their encampment, having trekked up through the unused paths.

With shovels, they were digging in the sand by lantern light. Beht paused and looked up out of the hole he was in. He held his lantern up so the light would cast on Zig.

"If your going to complain, why'd you pick to come out here in the middle of the night?" Asked Beht.

Zig stomped his foot again and glared at him.

"I didn't pick it! Boss said to get some o' them Yuuhi Crystals. Said they glowed like the moon and could only be seen at night. But I ain't seen 'em yet!"

"You sure he wasn't just trying to get rid of you?"

"Hey! If the Boss says there's glowin' crystals in the desert an' we need to get 'em, then there's glowin' crystals in the desert an' we need to get 'em!"

Gorrik stopped digging and look up at Zig standing at the edge of the hole.

"You know, when you put it that way, it does seem outlandish, absurd, preposterous-"

"Shuddup and keep diggin'!"

Stomping away, Zig went to sit down on one of the rocky outcroppings some distance away. He sat in complete darkness as Beht and Gorrik held the two lanterns they had brought with them. Folding his arms, he leaned back and silently watched them dig.

The silence was boring Zig, but if he complained, Beht would just offer to let him do the digging again. He looked around at the murky blackness and started to swing his feet back and forth for something to do.

He was about to give it up and tell the other they were heading back, when he saw a flash of white light in the distance. He leapt up and caught sight of it just before it blinked out of existence.

"That's gotta be one o' them." He whispered to himself.

He took a steps forward before pausing to look back at Beht and Gorrik.

"Eh, I'll get that crystal 'n' be back before they know it."

About half an hour later, Beht sighed and stopped digging. He leaned his shovel against the side and called up out of the hole:

"Zig, I really don't think any of them are around here."

"Yes, I concur. Whole heartedly agree. Be of the same opinion."

Beht leveled a glare at Gorrik and had half a mind to beam him with the shovel. He rejected the thought though, on account he'd have to drag his unconscious body back to camp.

"Zig?" Beht questioned, hauling himself out of the hole.

Following suite, Gorrik climbed out. Together, the two of them scanned the area.

"Now where's he gotten to?" Beht wondered aloud. "He knows he isn't supposed to go on off without one of us."

"Maybe he headed back to camp. Gone on without us."

"Maybe. But we ought to-"

"Beht! Gorrik!" The two turned their heads toward the faint voice, but only saw black rocks and shadows. "C'mere, I found somethin'!"

"Yuuhi Crystals?" Gorrik asked Beht.

Beht just shrugged and started walking in the direction of Zig's voice. "Let's get over there and see."

They turned the corner and spotted Zig in the middle of the small valley. He was on his hands and knees, shifting through the sand. His digging was slowly revealing a giant stone plate marked in glowing white runes.

Although the glowing light was somewhat dull, if was enough for the them to see by. Gorrik held his lantern up and turned it off while Beht did the same.

"Hey, Don't just stand there! Get on down here an' help me dig!" Zig paused a moment to look up at them. "This here's gotta be somethin' the Boss'll want."

Beht set his lantern down near a small ditch and slid down the side of the valley. He walked over to where Zig was and stared at the runes.

"What do you reckon it is? This sure doesn't look like the other ruins we've found." Beht said. "In fact, I can _read_ this one."

"Ya can?" Zig leapt up. "What's it say?"

Gorrik came up behind them and looked over the ruins as well.

"Amazing! Remarkable! Astonishing!" Gorrik said. "It's written in a modern language."

Getting down on one knee, Beht brushed some of the sand off a few of the letters. He uncovered a full sentence and began to read:

"Fate, yours and ours, buried deep within. Two, it takes, to enter. Choose wisely, for two, forever."

"What?" Zig questioned. "What in tarnation is that supposed to mean?"

"It's a cryptic message. A code." Gorrik said. "They're words with a hidden meaning."

"An' that meanin' is?" Zig asked, impatiently.

"Currently unknown. Unidentified. Un-"

"Whatever! How do we get inside, anyway?" Zig asked, scanning the surrounding area. "I don't see no doors."

"I think this _is_ the door." Beht answered. "Remember two weeks ago, when those two strangers from outta town showed up and found all the ruins to the north? They used things like this as elevators to go down into them."

"Hey, that's right!" Zig looked at the stone beneath his feet with new interest. "An' we couldn't get in 'cus we didn't have one o' them cosmo dohickeys!"

"And I'm betting we can't get in now because we don't have one of them now, either." Beht remarked.

"Grrr!" Zig stomped his boot and glared at the ruins entrance. "They couldn't be the only one's in the galaxy with one of them things!"

"Even if they aren't, where exactly are you going to find one?"

Zig crossed his arms and stared at the desert silently. He tapped his boot and bit his thumb while Beht and Gorrik went over to pick up their lanterns.

"Tomorrow," Zig said. "The ferry arrives to pick up the workers for their two day vacation. We just need to ask Dyrus if we could go with 'em, an' then we can ask 'round for info on them cosmo things."

"Does this mean we can go back now?" Beht asked, yawning.

"For now." He answered. "Gorrik!"

"Huh?" Gorrik looked up, surprised to be called.

"Mark this place on that map o' yours! We'll be back to open them doors!"

"'Kay, Zig. Rodger that. Affirmative."

*** Meanwhile, in the Nanairo system… ***

"Your mission," Grant said, his face appearing on screen. "Is to destroy this artifact."

A picture of a clear emerald set in stone showed up on screen. It rotated, giving Rallen and Jeena a 3D view of the object. The two of them shared a look before Jeena spoke up.

"Sir, what is the significance of this artifact?"

"It's called the Electric Emerald. Unlike most emeralds, this has a clear color and drains the surrounding environment of energy." He sounded stern. "And that is why you need to destroy it."

The picture of the artifact disappeared, and their commander reappeared. He had his hands clasped behind his back and he looked at them again.

"We've received information that the Krawl are searching for this object. If they get their claws on it before you do… They could take out any electric based defense."

"And that…" Jeena whispered. "Is all our defenses."

Grant nodded.


End file.
